New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis (23) backs in on Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov. 10, 2014, in Cleveland. (The Associated Press)

Spotlight on… Anthony Davis, PF, New Orleans

When: Several players are off to great starts, and that list certainly includes New Orleans center Anthony Davis. For his blazing start and domination on both ends of the court, he’s The Denver Post’s NBA player of the week.

What’s up: Few players have been hotter than Davis, who averaged 25.3 points 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 2.8 steals per game in four games and shot 64.2 percent from the field. New Orleans won three of those four games, and Davis was among the NBA leaders in plus/minus at plus-11.

Background: Davis was squarely on the radar before the season, identified by many as a potential breakout star. And he’s living up to expectations, perhaps even exceeding them. He is quickly making his case as the NBA’s best power forward, leading a team trying to make the playoffs out of the league’s toughest division, the Southwest.

Dempsey’s take: The beauty of Davis’ game is how effortless it appears. The former Kentucky star runs the court and hits jump shots like a guard. Defensively, Davis blocks shots of the man he’s guarding as well as on his “help side.” He is setting a new standard for how that position is to be played at a time when older players who have dominated the position, such as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, are riding off into the sunset of their careers.

Nuggets guard Gary Harris played his first NBA game Friday, against the Pacers, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in about 18:30 minutes in the Denver victory. After missing the first seven games of the season because of an injury, Harris got to put on a show in his home state (he’s from Fishers, about 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis), and his mom was in the stands to see it all.

Well, most of it anyway.

With about 10:20 to go in the fourth quarter, he drove to the bucket and completely posterized 6-foot-11 Ian Mahinmi. NBA cameras caught every angle, but his mother, Joy Harris, a former WNBA player for the Detroit Shock, didn’t catch one.

Thank goodness for YouTube.

Ok yes I missed the dunk live but I've watched the replay 100 times now.

Nuggets coach Brian Shaw’s post-game press conference after his team’s lackluster 130-113 loss to Portland on Wednesday lasted all of one minute, 14 seconds as he delivered the message needed and headed back to his office in the locker room.

Frustration is, understandably, perhaps starting to build within the Nuggets. Denver lost its fifth straight game Sunday, 116-110 to the Trail Blazers in Portland, and late in the fourth quarter, things got a little ugly between Kenneth Faried and Blazers guard Steve Blake.

With about 7:15 left, Faried set a blind screen on Blake near the top of the key and added an extra push while doing so. Blake, clearly unhappy about the push, sent an elbow to Faried’s chest. Faried fell to the floor only to quickly get up and get in Blake’s face. The two had to be separated by teammates.

After the game, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told CSNNW.com that he could see why Blake was upset about the play, but admitted he didn’t know if it was dirty.

1. Finding Afflalo. On Sunday morning, after the team meeting adjourned, Arron Afflalo stayed with coaches to watch more film and ask questions about how he could get a better foothold on his role in the offense. It has been a lukewarm start for Afflalo, now averaging 10.8 points, but against the Trail Blazers he appeared much more fluid within the Nuggets’ offense, which doesn’t necessarily target any one player. Afflalo looked more confident in getting to his spots and more decisive and confident with the ball and more at ease with what his teammates were doing around him.

Nuggets coach Brian Shaw attributed his season-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting to Ty Lawson’s presence back in the lineup. “I think it was a direct correlation with the return of Ty and his aggressiveness that got him going,” Shaw said. “So hopefully they’ll continue to find a groove and figure it out.”

PORTLAND – The sitting was getting to J.J. Hickson. He knows he was to blame for his season-opening five-game suspension, but on Sunday he was ready to start to make it right.

Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo goes up for two of his 18 points against Portland on Sunday. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

His eight points and 10 rebounds was a solid place to start.

“I thought he was active,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. “He got eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds and that’s huge. That’s something he can really do, he’s an elite rebounder per minute when he’s in the game at his position.”

Hickson played 14 minutes in his return, which came against Portland, his former team. He’s also coming off of ACL surgery earlier this year and is limited to 20 minutes per game for the time being. Afterward he expressed encouragement with his first outing. Read more…

When: The first full week of the NBA season provided a lot of surprises, perhaps none as big as by the Sacramento Kings, who have gotten out to their first 5-1 start in several years. The best player has been do-everything center DeMarcus Cousins.

What’s up: Cousins was dominant in four games last week, averaging 27 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and a steal as Sacramento went 4-0, including a big one at Phoenix on Friday night.

1. Point guard depth. After the game, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said the concern level at his backup point guard depth is “high” on days when starter Ty Lawson can’t play, like on Friday night against Cleveland. But he in fact ought to be encouraged by the play he got from the players at the position. Led by Randy Foye’s 28 points and nine assists, Nuggets point guards scored 48 points and dished out 15 assists against the Cavaliers. The trio of Foye, Nate Robinson and Erick Green shot 19-of-36 from the field (52.7 percent) and 7-of-17 from the 3-point line (41.1 percent). They were the lead players in what was by far the Nuggets’ best shooting game of the season as a team — and had just four turnovers. The Nuggets’ offensive execution had its best day of the season. There hasn’t been a more calming game as it relates to what the Nuggets are doing behind Ty Lawson, in fact, than this one.

LeBron James spoke to reporters after the Cavs’ morning shootaround in Denver and addressed (again) the struggles of his team, the reported/but refuted feud between him and point guard Kyrie Irving and what he sees in the Nuggets. The good part though is at the one-minute mark: Read more…

And yes he has opinions on the Nuggets. This is part of what he said about his former team in an interview with The Post, for my weekly Nuggets/NBA column, which will be available on Sunday.

On the difficulty of mixing and matching players with minute-restrictions: “I always liked that stuff. I liked ‘Okay, he can’t play tonight or he can only play 20 minutes.’ Because anytime you limited me, it opened up the opportunity for something else. And I’ve always enjoyed that, because in the CBA you had a lot of that.” Read more…

The 1-3 Nuggets host the 1-3 Cavaliers Friday evening in a matchup most expected (perhaps unreasonably so) to look wildly different at this point. The Cavs, with a new big three of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have struggled early, while James has faced the most criticism for being too passive.

The Nuggets didn’t carry as high of expectations this season, though the return of many players from injury gave fans hope that they wouldn’t see a repeat of last year’s 36-46 record.

But four games in both teams carry the same record, and the Nuggets’ official Twitter account took advantage Thursday.

Nuggets players Kenneth Faried, left, and JaVale McGee watch during their game against the Kings on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

All options remain on the table for Nuggets coach Brian Shaw in his quest to get his team headed in the right direction. The main issue at the moment is the starting five, which has not performed up to par through the first four games, putting a particular bad taste in Shaw’s mouth after getting down big early in the Nuggets’ loss at Sacramento on Wednesday.

“What I have to do better is recognize when we don’t get off to a good start and when guys aren’t really getting into it, then I have to immediately go to the bench, use a timeout quicker, cut these runs. You start the game 0-0, look up and we’re down 12 already or down 20. So that’s on me.” Read more…

Rocky hands LeBron James a replica Carmelo Anthony jersey during the Nuggets’ game against the Timberwolves in 2004. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

On Friday, LeBron James will face the Nuggets for the 21st time in his career — 11th in Denver — and he comes equipped with a new pair of sidekicks and the same set of critics. The Cavaliers, with big man Kevin Love and point guard Kyrie Irving, have struggled to find their rhythm four games in, and the King has already taken heat for being too passive in the Cavs’ early going.

But the Nuggets, reeling from their second consecutive loss to the Kings, know a thing or two about early season struggles, and for two teams that many expected to be on different ends of the spectrum — and who may still end up that way — Friday’s matchup at Pepsi Center will undoubtedly be interesting.

In light of their upcoming game, we decided to dig through The Post’s archives and found this gem of LeBron in Denver on April 24, 2004.Read more…

Nate Robinson wore a pair of Air Jordan “Miro” 7s for the Nuggets’ loss to the Kings on Wednesday. (Rich Pedroncelli, The Associated Press)

There were few bright spots in the Nuggets’ blowout loss to the Kings on Wednesday, their second loss to Sacramento in three nights.

But Nate Robinson provided a pair — literally. The Nuggets’ guard, known for having one of the biggest shoe collections among pro athletes let alone NBA players, wore a pair of Air Jordan 7 (Retro) “Miro”s. Fewer than 1,000 pairs of these Jordans were released in 2008, and none in the United States, according to SneakerFiles.com.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time Robinson has donned his “Miro” 7s. He wore them when he was with the Bulls in 2013 and scored 34 points in 29 minutes in a triple-overtime win against the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.

SACRAMENTO – Three takeaways the morning after the Nuggets 131-109 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night.

1. Starter’s remorse. Slow starts have been a common theme in all of the Nuggets four games this season, but on Wednesday night the starting lineup hit new lows. Off-kilter from the start, the quintet of Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried and Timofey Mozgov were blitzed early. It should be said that Chandler did get off to a good start, and was the only bright spot in the group. But generally, players were slow to get to their spots to initiate offense or were late in paying attention to the play call; no player forced the issue to the rim to get fouls, as they watched Sacramento do all night; there were instances where players were in areas that made it difficult for others to operate; they were slow to recognize mismatches or actions that could have resulted in easier looks. The Kings played great defensively, that should not be overlooked. But the Nuggets didn’t make it extraordinarily difficult from the opening tip. Read more…

The former Nuggets and Sixers guard is in the Philippines for the “All In” celebrity basketball game and spoke to reporters about an array of subjects, from his top five NBA players, to his 16-year-old son, to why he wants to mentor young players.

He also, jokingly, offered up this gem: “I’d never want to be a coach. We’d never practice.”

For nearly three and a half years now, the J.R Smith-Raja Bell double flop has been, in my mind, the greatest show of artistry and shoddy acting on an NBA court. The two were perfectly in unison as they fell to the floor, arms flailing, as Deron Williams casually glanced over in time to see the two hit the court.

There have been other good flops, but none have come close to whatever happened in that Feb. 2011 game. How did they both end up flying like that? Did they plan it? Did they secretly discuss it on the previous play — “OK, on three we flop. Got it?” And what was Williams thinking?

It’s a thing a beauty, and I say this knowing the King of Flopping, Manu Ginobili, has over the years masteredthe artof it. (And, yes, I truly believe it’s an art.) His work has yet to overtake Smith’s and Bell’s masterpiece though.

However, one play Monday in an otherwise dull (at best) game between the Nuggets and Kings made me question my allegiance to the Smith-Bell double-flop. At a time when the league is supposedly cracking down on flopping, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins engaged in the rare triple-flop, all three collapsing to the floor simultaneously for no apparent reason. Bizarre. Weird. Awesome.

After watching it a good 10 or so times (I lead a very meaningful life), I’ve decided that, rare as it may be, it’s not impressive enough to overtake the Smith-Bell act. The dramatics didn’t do it for me. The fall wasn’t hard enough. Their facial expressions weren’t of complete bafflement. I wasn’t sold.

But it was pretty good and has earned a spot among my top five all-time flops. Behold:Read more…

Sacramento’s Rudy Gay posts up Denver’s Alonzo Gee during the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game at the Pepsi Center. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Three takeaways the morning after the Nuggets 110-105 loss to Sacramento on Monday night.

1. Chandler’s fourth could be a boost. Wilson Chandler spent his Sunday night at the Pepsi Center, on the Nuggets practice court, getting shot after shot up in hopes of turning around a frigid start from the perimeter this season. For three quarters on Monday it appeared he’d have to endure another frustrating night – until things started to click for him in the fourth quarter.

After making just 1-of-7 shots for two points through three quarters, Chandler hit 4-of-8, including a 3-pointer in the fourth. He scored 12 points in the period in what may turn out to be a fortunes-changing 12 minutes for the veteran. Shaw pointed out the majority of his points were “drives to the basket,” but making those also gave him the confidence to step out an nail a shot from beyond the arc. Read more…

OKLAHOMA CITY — The morning after the Nuggets 102-91 loss at Oklahoma City, here are three observations I took away from the game. And a few other things.

1. Ty’s aggressiveness. The Nuggets ran a play at the start of the game at the Thunder designed for Ty Lawson to quickly get a shot up and get going early. But the play broke down in the face of a stifling Oklahoma City defense and he was not able to get off to the fast start that they’d hoped. That generally lasted most of the first half. There were few driving lanes, there were even fewer fast break opportunities because the Nuggets weren’t getting consistent stops and rebounds on the defensive end. “I think they had 21 free throw attempts in the first half,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. “So that kind of just messed up the flow of the game. So either they were going to the free throw line or they were hitting shots. And now we have to take the ball out of the net every time, and they get to set up their defense.” Read more…

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times.